


New Normal

by Readem



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21838573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Readem/pseuds/Readem
Summary: Nora has built something perfect. She has a beautiful, modern home, a wonderful job, a hilarious, handsome husband, and the sweetest baby anyone could ask for.That is her normal.Nora must learn that normal never lasts for long.
Relationships: Nate/Nora (Fallout)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	New Normal

Getting ready in the morning was honestly one of Nora’s favorite activities.

It always sounded a little lame, but it was that air of excited, unrushed normalcy that really just made her heart swell with love. The feeling that every day had this new, electric potential was something she hadn’t experienced in her younger years. Battling anxiety and a lot of body image issues as a teenager had led her to believe that was just what life was like. But lately…

It was him. That was part of it. Her baby. He was so small and perfect, and every other thought she had in the morning was about how he would grow and change that day. This warm, motherly pride for him had transformed her. As a law student she’d been more focused on her grades, that cold child of academic achievement always a step away; and then what? But this, this grew daily, and she was in awe of it.

Her husband helped her love the morning, too, with his smiles, jokes, and the tender way he treated her and their son Shaun. Nate was  _ there _ , which was more than he had been for the last few years. Now that he was back from deployment their family was complete, and everything seemed so hopeful; things were just - better.

So it was with a smile that she greeted her reflection that fateful morning. She’d already been up a while, feeding Shaun in the early dawn and staying up to sip coffee as she watched the sunrise in a lawn chair. The dewey grass had her tracking in subtle footprints that made Codsworth tut quietly, afraid to wake Nate.

Doing her hair in a quick coif that was mostly automatic, she hummed to herself. The lipstick she usually used wasn’t in the cabinet, and as she leaned over the sink to see if it had fallen in the crevice behind, a quick grab of her ass made her jump.

“Nate! You jerk!” She cried, touching her head where she had slammed it into the medicine cabinet, and he laughed an apology as he swung her around to kiss her. “I heard you practicing your speech last night; how are they going to take you seriously if you keep honking everyone you see?” Nora grinned, pushing at him a little. Nate rolled his eyes, affecting more of a military demeanour.

“Apologies, ma’am. I forget civilians aren’t as used to as much honking as soldiers,” he intoned, grabbing her ass again, to her giggles. “Use every weapon in your arsenal; your enemy certainly won’t hold back on the honking, why should you? War never changes.”

She couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore and dropped her head to his chest with a snort as a few tears rolled down her face. Nate twisted them to look in the mirror, looming over her shoulder, and she kissed his neck at the soppy look on his face.

“You’re going to knock ‘em dead at the Veteran’s Hall tonight, hon,” she said tenderly, “now let me get ready and stop hogging the mirror.”

“Aw, hon you know I’m a natural mirror hog,” he cried, snorting like a pig and pressing their faces close to the mirror as she giggled, “I can’t get enough!”

“Out! Out you brute!” Nora shoved him, and he laughed, trailing an arm back to keep their hands together until he had to let go, calling down the hall,

“Farewell! Aideu, aideu, parting is such sweet sorrowwww…”

Putting on the rest of her makeup was hard when she was smiling so much, but Nora could deal. Though, she never did find that lipstick.

  
  
  


Nate was in his usual spot in front of the TV, glued to a toy commercial. Nora rolled her eyes a little as Codsworth presented more coffee and the paper, freshly delivered. Nate was a huge toy fiend, even as an adult; if he had been left to his own devices, he would have bought himself and Shaun a shed’s worth of toys already - and Shaun could barely hold himself up.

Just as she was considering whether to ask Codsworth to cook some eggs, a loud knock sounded at the door.

“Probably that salesman; he comes for you every day,” Nate called, still stuck in the TV. Nora knew better.

“How do you know? You never answer the door,” she replied, flicking his head as she walked past the sofa.

On the other side of the door was a mousy man who looked like he’d already been at the job for several hours. Nervous laughter greeted her questions, and he eventually managed to work his way to the meat of the matter. Nate’s military service and her position in the DA’s office had landed them a space in the local vault. Personally Nora really didn’t believe the vault system smelled right, but the majority of the populace was for it - and the construction jobs created in a time when riots and inflation were a major issue. Unfortunately, this man probably wouldn’t be able to answer the questions she had.

Nate could probably tell she was going to say no, because he spoke up from where he was listening on the couch.

“C’mon honey, it’s just a little paperwork. Let him fill it out and it’s done.”

“Well, I guess so. Let me see,” Nora said, holding a hand out for the clipboard. The Vault-Tec Salesman seemed so relieved he nearly dropped his pen.

“If you’ll just sign right there, and could you hand that over for his signature as well, since you’re both here?” he said as she finished. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for days, you’ve no idea how happy I am to catch you both at home.” He gushed, and Nate eyed Nora with a grin as he handed the clipboard back. “That’s it, then, going to walk this back over to the Vault; take care, now!” He called, and was gone. Nate snorted, watching him out the window.

“He left his car parked across the street at Rosa’s and is running up the street instead. They must’ve been on his ass to get that signed.”

“Well, he could have had things done earlier if  _ somebody _ would just answer the door,” Nora groused.

“Are you mad you had to do paperwork on maternity leave? C’mon, what’s a little paperwork for peace of mind?” Nate said, flopping back on the couch.

She pet his hair a little. “For you and Shaun, no price is too high. That is, if I believed those vaults were really safe; if you’d seen the lawsuits we’re drafting-”

“I know honey,” he said, tilting his head back to stare up at her, “I know, but it can’t hurt, and we can always tell them to take us off the list.” It was an old conversation, one that never failed to get her riled up, so Nora let it drop and sauntered over to the island. Settling down with the paper, she Frisbee’d Nate’s favorite  _ Grognak the Barbarian  _ comic at his head, smiling into her mug as he yelped.

After a few minutes, Codsworth went to change Shaun, and Nate ambled over, slinging his empty cereal bowl into the sink as he did. Thank God for Codsworth. Nate sat his chin on her shoulder - a habit he was increasingly demonstrating - and blew a little to make the paper ruffle. She brought a hand up to hold over his face, holding her ground as he licked her hand.

“Anyfing good,” he asked, muffled, and she patted his mouth.

“No, more of the same. I wonder if they'll allow Eddie Winter a home run since they’ve all let him get to third base,” Nora drawled. Nate’s shocked laugh was gold.

“Nora! What a mouth on my wife! I knew I liked ‘em dirty,” he winked. “Though really I think you’re right. I don’t buy this stuff about his disappearance. They’re all deep in his pockets or I’m a dirty Chinese-loving-” 

“Ma’am!” Codsworth interrupted, “I was just attending to young Shaun but he won’t calm down - he seems to need some of this maternal affection you’re so good at!” Trust Codsworth to interrupt just as Nate’s racist potty mouth made an appearance.

“Coming!” She called, and pushed the paper at Nate. 

Shaun was fussing, but as soon as he saw her he calmed, blinking baby-big eyes as she leaned into his crib. She traced his face with a finger, letting him hold the other. Her baby. No matter how much fun she had with Nate, quiet moments with Shaun like these were golden. Again she felt her heart swell, love nearly blocking her throat.

“Spin the mobile a bit; I just fixed it,” came Nate’s voice from the door, and he moseyed over to join her, a hand on her hip. She spun the mobile and they stared at their baby for a bit, existing.

As the little song came to an end, Nate spoke up. “I was thinking of going to the park for a bit. Weather should hold up, and then we can come back, watch the game, and carve pumpkins?”

“Sounds perfect,” Nora said, “but I don’t want to get pregnant again, so we should go to the park over in Concord. There’s a little stand with pumpkins and gourds set up, so we can -”

“Ma’am? Sir? You should see this!” Codsworth’s worried voice echoed through the house, and Nora’s frustration at being interrupted melted as he called again. Nate met her eyes and bent down to grab Shaun, wrapping him up as she hurried to the living room.

The TV had been turned up, and Ron Waterman, morning newscaster for  _ Everything Today, _ was holding his head in his hands.

Every kid and adult had participated in the drills, seminars, and lectures; endless worries of nuclear fire were on the forefront of everyone’s mind. It was hard to live in perpetual war and not be afraid, certainly not after the US had been invaded - even if it was ‘only Alaska’. There were hundreds of running jokes and sarcastic comments about nuclear fallout - hell, that frumpy salesman had made one just an hour ago! - but through the posing, they all believed.

Nora believed. She’d seen confidential documents, been the victim of a husband called to the front lines, listened in on military conversations as a lowly typist, been involved with the DA’s office, and seen the running corruption. Of course she believed.

But she didn’t really understand until she felt that shock of fear in her chest. She’d watched Ron on the air, knew him like anyone did, and never had she seen emotion from him like this. His final line echoed in her head as the TV buzzed with static, the disconnection error message cementing the reality of what was happening.

“I repeat, confirmed reports of nuclear detonations in New York and Pennsylvania. My God.”

It was strange how the body focused in an emergency. Nora had been through some training, most of it with Nate, but there were a lot of jokes and stolen kisses in those trainings. None of that even entered her head. Right now, she was focused on her feet. She didn’t have any shoes on, just some slippers. She needed shoes.

Nate was in her face, holding Shaun. His eyes were intense, and she idly thought that this must be what he looked like on the battlefield.

  
“We need to get to the vault,  _ NOW _ . C’mon Nora, I’ve got Shaun. Hurry!” He pulled at her arm with his free hand - when had he opened the door? - and his voice woke her up. She started to turn back toward the kitchen, mind racing a thousand miles an hour, but he pulled at her again, already headed outside. She knew he would leave her, if it meant keeping Shaun safe. Good.

Resisting the urge to pack, to try to seal her world in a bag, she instead grabbed the diaper bag - always ready - from behind the door and ran. Codsworth shouted after them to be safe, and she wished she could have said something, but all her world was focused on running. She caught up with Nate, thanking her post-natal workouts as they sprinted over the little bridge toward the vault.

The emergency alert system had kicked in, and warning sirens sounded from every direction. Neighbors shouted to each other; some clearly more prepared than others if the pre-packed luggage had anything to say. No one would laugh at their fears now.

Unapologetically, Nora acted as a plow to anyone in their way, shoving past with sharp elbows as they reached the crowd at the gate. Nate cursed behind her as they saw the line, but she pushed through to see the salesman who had just been at their door get turned away from his own company. The grizzled soldier manning the fence looked like he might kill them all himself, if someone crossed through.

Two power armored soldiers quelled the crowd with the threat of their miniguns, spinning up the barrels as if to fire. Nate yelled over her shoulder to get their attention, shouting his military ID number and their names. Several vertibirds flew overhead, one headed down to land up the hill.

“Let us in, we’re on the list!” Nora yelled, and thank God, _ thank God _ , the soldier nodded them through. A Vault-Tec employee already running for the lift called for them to follow him. Nora tried not to listen to the shouts of the people behind them - their friends and neighbors condemning them for saving themselves.

Shivering on the platform as adrenaline continued to coarse through her, she huddled against Nate as he comforted Shaun. Platitudes of safety dropped from his lips, but she wasn’t listening, instead staring wide-eyed at the horizon. Someone yelled something and the lift started to descend, humming metal jerking every once in a while beneath her feet. Out of nowhere, the lawsuits her office were drafting ran through her head, and she wondered if anyone had managed to file the worker’s comp case about the Vault 114 cave-in. The thought didn’t last long before a distant  _ boom _ took her attention.

She thought she’d gone blind.

One moment she was staring out at the horizon, waiting, and the next her vision was overtaken by the brightest light she’d ever seen - apart from staring directly into the sun. Blinking frantically, she hid her eyes with a forearm, listening to the screams around her - before she peeked out with watering eyes. A shock wave was headed out toward them, bending trees and kicking up dust as it raced forward. They were going to die.

But they didn’t. The lift operator must have kicked it into full gear, as the thing dropped suddenly, descending quickly compared to the crawl before. Staring up above them, she saw the wind kick past as the metal cover closed them in darkness.

It was quiet, underground. The screams and whine of the vertibirds disappeared as if they’d never been. And not totally dark. The emergency lights in the lift cast a pale glow, like a dying night light. Nora was crying, so that didn’t help. She didn’t know when she’d started, but it was there, though she felt numb.

The whispers - why whisper? Who would hear - of those around her brought her back to Nate, and they simply stared at each other. What now?

“Did you see where it came down?” Mr. Russell said weakly from somewhere to the right.

“It was out past the city. Maybe around the freeway,” Mrs. Callahan sobbed, before her husband shushed her.

There were a few Vault-Tec staff on the lift, and as it finally slowed to a stop and the gate went up, they tried to affect a positive demeanour, ushering people up the steps. Nora’s heart went out to them. The Overseer and others had apparently already been in the vault; Nora was frankly surprised, and she knew Nate thought so, too, by the look they shared. Vault 111 had been made to look unfinished, based on the notices Sanctuary Hills residents had been given. Maybe they were out of date?

“Just up the steps; we need to get everyone cleaned up and though orientation. Keep an orderly line, people, you’re doing great,” the Overseer called, and his voice sounded like Nate’s dad so much that she let out a sob.

Following the line wasn’t much of an option, though some had to take a knee and looked near vomiting or hysterics. Mrs. Able  _ was _ in hysterics.

It would have been interesting to see what people had with them in any other situation. Some, like the Cofrans, had nothing, while the Ables had full suitcases. Nora hoped that the Vault would have basic amenities ready, but if they had been caught unfinished, would they all have to live in what they had? She didn’t even have real shoes on...

Nate took her hand as they stood in line, knowing her thoughts. She was a planner and a worrier, but she trusted him without reservation. The thought that she didn’t know what she’d do if he wasn’t there flushed through her mind and more tears leaked from her eyes.

After stepping through some sort of scanner - “Probably for radiation,” she heard Mr. DiPietro murmur - they were given vacuum-packed vault suits in a general size bracket and sent off. Distantly, she wondered what they would have done if she was still pregnant, and if there was a small vault suit somewhere that would fit Shaun. She must have looked shell-shocked enough that a kind, I-play-one-on-TV doctor directed them to follow him, gushing too brightly about how much they’d love living there. His plastic smile hurt her eyes, and every step felt like wading through a cold lake. She probably was going into shock, now that the adrenaline was starting to fade.

Some were crying in the hall, others were focused on pretending at normalcy to drown out reality, but at least there were friendly faces. The doctor directed them to some sort of machinery that looked like they were straight from  _ Astoundingly Awesome Tales #4: Invasion of the Zetans _ . Apparently they would need to undergo decontamination before continuing. Normally, Nora would ask a million questions, but she just felt washed out, cold, and sick.

There weren’t really any changing areas, so Nora held Shaun for Nate as he ducked between two pods to pull on the vault suit, handing his clothes to the doctor for decontamination. They switched and Nora did the same, Nate blocking her with his body as if anyone was focused on getting a peek. Thankfully, the vault suit came with shoes, a sort of boot made of faux leather that was surprisingly comfortable, especially compared to her normal heels.

Then, just as she started to step in the decontamination chamber, Shaun began to cry. That set her off. Tears streaming, she tried to speak normally as she turned to pet her baby, held tight in her husband’s arms. Nora was vaguely aware of him speaking, saying, “don’t worry, mommy’s here, she’s fine, she’s right here, we’re all here,” and she sobbed harder, knowing they could have been taken from her if  _ anything _ had been different. They took several minutes to just stand together, pressed as closely as they could, and Nora felt her heart start to calm. She’d probably break out in tears a lot more before they made it through this, but at least they’d be together.

Judging by the doctor’s nudging, they were holding everyone up. He took the diaper bag to be decontaminated with their clothes. Nate took Shaun, because Nora’s arms felt like noodles, and she might fall asleep in the pod after the emotional release she’d just had.  _ God _ to think it was barely past morning… Then the door was closing, and she was staring through the window to Nate, who waved Shaun’s chubby baby hand at her and drew a heart on the window.

Things would be alright. She could settle for a new normal, as long as they were together.

Breathing deeply, Nora relaxed to a robotic woman’s voice starting a countdown. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she vaguely thought that it seemed even colder, and that the air had a strange taste to it - but wait, that wasn’t right? The tear tracks on her face hurt like she’d been standing in a blizzard, and her eyes felt crusted shut, and it was so  _ cold _ ...

And then nothing.

**Author's Note:**

> Though this starts off canon, things will divert as the plot progresses. Please let me know if you see any errors!


End file.
